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Police Bust Woman For DWI After Breaking Up Fight Outside Scarsdale Church

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. -Scarsdale police officers had to break up a fight outside a local church involving an allegedly drunk woman from Yonkers whose passengers forced her to pull over when she began driving erratically.

Hitchcock Church in Scarsdale.

Hitchcock Church in Scarsdale.

Photo Credit: File

Officers were dispatched to Hitchcock Church on Greenacres Avenue shortly after 2 a.m. on Monday morning, where there was a report of an altercation in progress between two parties.

Upon arrival at the church, officers reported that there were two women on the ground involved in a physical altercation next to a Ford Escape, which was in the parking lot. Police said that they found 29-year-old Jessica Artiles holding another woman in a headlock, and she had to be physically restrained by the officers.

During the subsequent investigation into the incident, police said that they were told Artiles had been drinking and was intoxicated before pulling into the church parking lot after her passengers urged her to stop driving erratically. A verbal argument then ensued, which turned physical.

Police said that while speaking with Artiles, they detected a “strong odor” of alcohol on her breath, and she had bloodshot eyes and her speech was slurred. She was also struggling to keep her balance while speaking with the officers.

While investigating the altercation, police said that they found a black bag on the floor of the passenger’s side with an open beer can and wine bottle. There was also a water bottle on the side of the driver’s seat that officers said “smelled of an alcoholic beverage.”

Officers said that Artiles was unable to submit to an alco-sensor pre-screening test, which she was unable to complete. Police also noted that Artiles Standardized Field Sobriety Tests could not be given “due to the circumstances of the incident and due to the level of intoxication of (Artiles).”

Artiles agreed to submit to a Datamaster DMT test to determine her blood alcohol content at Scarsdale Police Headquarters, attempting unsuccessfully to complete it three times. She was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor count of driving while intoxicated and cited for refusal to take a breath test and for driving with an open container in her vehicle, both infractions.

Following arraignment, Artiles was released on $100 cash bail and is due back in Scarsdale Village Court to answer the charges on Wednesday, Oct. 25. 

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